A big part of Arizona’s success was itsstarting pitching. Robbie Ray competed with Anderson, but lasted into the seventh inning without allowing a run while striking out 12. It was Ray’s third straight start with at least 10 Ks, but Brewers manager Craig Counsell didn’t let that fact distract him from his own team’s great starting pitching.

“The thing was as advertised,” Counsell said. “The two guys threw the ball very well. [Anderson] was really good. They had a few good at-bats off him in the first inning. He pitched out of a few tough situations. Made a good pitch and struck out [Jake] Lamb, who’s a really good hitter, in the sixth. I was really proud of him. It was another excellent start for Chase.”

The floodgates opened once Anderson exited the game, as the Diamondbacks hit three home runs in the seventh inning and another in the eighth to put the game out of reach.

Outfielder Keon Broxton accounted for the only Brewers offense, a solo home run in the ninth inning. But many of the fans’ eyes were on left field as top Brewers prospect Lewis Brinson made his Major League debut. He was 0-for-2 at the plate with a strikeout and two walks.

Outfielder Brett Phillips (who debuted June 5) made an appearance as a pinch hitter, while Josh Hader saw no playing time.

PHOENIX — The Milwaukee Brewers defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks 8-6 Friday night, but it came at the cost of second baseman Jonathan Villar, who left in the eighth inning after a diving attempt to catch a ball heading into right field.

Counsell said Villar’s back spasms were a result of the collision with the ground and x-rays will be taken and analyzed on Saturday.

As for the game itself, Zach Davies threw five innings with four hits and four runs (three earned) and would have stayed in for another inning had it not been for Paul Goldschmidt’s RBI single in the fifth.

That RBI tied the game at 4, but Jesus Aguilar would put the Brewers ahead for good with a two-RBI double in the top of the sixth inning. Manny Pina and Orlando Arcia finished with three-hit performances.

Corey Knebel was masterful out of the bullpen, recording his eighth save of the year. He struck out three batters in 1.1 innings, adding to his total of 57 Ks on the season and 13 this month. Knebel’s season ERA dips to an impressive 1.15 on the year, allowing just 4 earned runs over 31.1 innings.

The victory solidified Milwaukee’s lead in the National League Central while handing Arizona its first back-to-back loss in two weeks. Nelson went seven innings with a season-high 10 strikeouts and just one earned run.

Santana provided a good bit of run support, smacking the Crew’s first grand slam of the season in the fourth inning. It was also the first grand slam by a Brewer at Miller Park since Ryan Braun did so in August of 2015. Santana finished 2-for-4 with four RBIs.

If there was a downside to the 9-5 win, it was the relief appearance by Oliver Drake. He allowed four earned runs on three hits without retiring a single batter.

Second baseman Jonathan Villar was dropped to seventh in the batting order because of a recent hitting slump. He finished 2-for-4 at the plate while scoring a run.

Anderson’s career-high 11 strikeouts not only ended Milwaukee’s five-game skid, but snapped a six-game winning streak for Arizona. The Brewers teed off on former teammate Zack Greinke, tagging him for five earned runs over 5.2 innings. Then he was asked about his performance compared to Anderson’s.

“It seemed like the whole team played pretty terrible today, including myself,” Greinke said. “I mean, he almost threw a no-hitter, so it was a pretty bad game.”

Anderson took a career-high 111 pitches into the eighth inning before shortstop Nick Ahmed ended his no-hitter with a leadoff single. But Anderson wasn’t too upset.

“You don’t get the opportunity to do that all the time. You’d like to finish that, get that no hitter, get the shutout, but the fans, the way they support us in this town, I’ve never experienced anything like that. Just give them a little bit of a hat tip back to them, [show] my gratitude for what they’ve done for us and the support they always give us.”

At the time of the win, Milwaukee had pulled even with the Chicago Cubs for the National League Central lead, a title they relinquished after losing five straight.

MILWAUKEE — Frustrations appeared to grow for the Milwaukee Brewers after a 4-2 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks in a 10-inning contest at Miller Park Friday night.

Not only was it Milwaukee’s fifth straight loss, but Brewers manager Craig Counsell was ejected in the sixth inning for arguing with an umpire. The call in question was a missed scoring opportunity where first baseman Eric Thames was called out at home plate while trying to score from third base on a passed ball. The Diamondbacks recovered the ball in time to tag Thames out. The former Korean League star couldn’t help but notice things were stacking up against them.

“Yeah, it’s just [laughs] it’s baseball,” Thames began. “Our team is showing heart, but everything that can go wrong — I mean, knock on wood, I wouldn’t want anyone to get hurt or anything, but besides that, everything’s going wrong.”

Thames was 0-for-4 at the plate while striking out twice. Jett Bandy and Hernan Pérez accounted for Milwaukee’s only scoring, with each driving in one run. Bandy’s RBI came on a solo home run in the sixth inning.

On a positive note for Milwaukee, Opening Day starter Junior Guerra rejoined the rotation to throw 5.2 innings of one-run ball, while striking out five Arizona batters. He returned from a calf strain suffered on the first game of the season, recently throwing a pair of minor league rehab games.

The Chicago Cubs took over first place in the National League Central, with Milwaukee trailing in second by a half game.

MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Chase Anderson was hoping to head into the 2017 season already with a win under his belt, but it was revealed on Tuesday that he had lost his salary arbitration case against Milwaukee, and will make $2.45 million this season.

Anderson was hoping to make $2.85 million, but when the Brewers didn’t budge from their suggested salary of $2.45 million, the case was sent to an independent arbitrator.

While it wasn’t revealed what factored into the decision to rule in favor of the Brewers, Anderson’s 2016 numbers likely played a role. After coming to a hitter-friendly Miller Park from Chase Field (one pitchers are more in control), Anderson’s numbers took a slight dip. He averaged a 4.18 ERA in his two seasons with the Arizona Diamondbacks, but just a 4.39 ERA in Milwaukee. He gave up 1.1 home runs per nine innings with the D-Backs to the 1.7 he allowed with the Brewers. His strikeout: walk ratio also declined, from 2.70 to 2.26.

Anderson is among seven pitchers hoping to make the five-man starting rotation.

MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee Brewers starter Jimmy Nelson struck out seven batters, but five errors by the Crew led to an 8-1 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks Wednesday night.

Nelson lasted 4 2/3 innings before being pulled in favor of Jhan Marinez, but the damage was already done. Arizona struck for eight runs (six earned) at that point. Yosmany Tomas had a three-run blast in the first inning to set the pace, causing Brewers manager Craig Counsell to scratch his head.

“That first inning was out of the ‘Twilight Zone,'” Counsell said following the loss. “Certainly not something I’ve ever seen and it was just strange. First two innings, really.”

That second inning was when Jonathan Villar was caught stealing third base, his 12th time this season.

Throughout the contest, Milwaukee committed five errors, while the offense only recorded five hits.